Guest blog: Eggs Collective

Ahead ofLate Night Love opening at CPT next month, Eggs Collective tell us their top Late Night Love Songs:

What makes a perfect power ballad? We know they are bad with some pretty dubious lyrics and sentiments. But… there is something irresistible about them. They are bigger than us. Is it in their chords? They are not embarrassed to be embarrassing. They are a hug. They are a sleazy dance. They are wrong and that’s alright. And somehow, unlike the rest of us, they earn their earnestness. So here we are, Eggs Collective, in praise of the power ballad. Synthesisers, we salute you

Show Me Heaven by Maria McKee

We still haven’t heard this song too much. It’s been in a Tom Cruise film. There’s a tambourine in it and we don’t think you can fail to be moved. We like it so much our sound designer Tim Shaw slowed the song down to one hour for us. There is so much emotion in the original three and a half minutes that it can carry for one whole hour.

Against All Odds by Phil Collins

Do all power ballads have to have been in a film? It’s seems that way. That’s fine. This one’s for you Jeff Bridges. On your tropical beach, with your beautiful heiress, and the tag line ‘sometimes love is the most dangerous game of all’.

Think Twice by Celine Dion

During the making of Late Night Love, our new show about radios, teenage girls and love songs, we watched a lot of music videos. They inspired the show as well as being the unstable foundation from which we built our expectations of love and adulthood. Well, this video does not disappoint. It has a man in denim dungarees, a convertible jeep and a lot of ice sculptures. Celine is on fine form too, singing her heart out wearing a sheet from off the bed. Also we like that a lot of people mistakenly call this song ‘Baby Think Twice’ or ‘Serious’.

Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton

Lift the text of this song away from the music and you’re basically left with a super-passionate monologue. If you’re auditioning for RADA any time soon, maybe you could perform these lyrics as your contemporary piece? Be warned though, it’s not a role to be taken lightly. Behind the seemingly simple veil of tenderness, a quick analysis of the subtext reveals the character of ‘Clapton’ to be a complicated, car-key throwing, migraine-suffering kinda guy.

Lady In Red by Chris De Burgh

“I’ve never seen you looking so lovely as you did tonight”. “Aww, thanks Chris.” “I’ve never seen you shine so bright” “Aww, stop it, you. Come on now.” “I’ve never see that dress you’re wearing” “Yeah you have, remember, I wore it to your brother’s wedding. It’s on all the pictures. Look, there’s one on the mantelpiece, framed” “I’ve never seen the highlights in your hair that catch your eye” “Chris, when I got back from the hairdressers, you looked directly at my highlights and did a horrified face when I told you how much they’d cost, and you weren’t even joking. Remember? You were watching Storage Hunters at the time?” “I’ve never seen so many men asking if you wanted to dance, looking for a little romance” “Eugh. And why are you pronouncing ‘romance’ like that?” “I’ve never seen you looking so gorgeous as you did tonight” “FFS, Chris. Go to bed”

Careless Whisper by George Michael

George doesn’t really go into detail in the song about exactly WHY his now-rhythmless feet are so guilty. One viewing of the music video however, is enough to subsequently make your heart break every time you hear that famous sax solo scream out. We can’t say any more here, it’s too painful. You’ll have to watch it yourself (Trigger warning: video includes cavorting on yachts in white swimwear).

Don’t Be A Stranger by Dina Carroll

Fact: Dina sings this entire song to her intended lover without breaking eye contact once, she is feeling it that much. She is so heartbroken there’s an orchestra, which is something that happens when you go through a really bad break-up. A life lesson from this song is that if you’re in serious pain you can express it with a key change. Don’t worry, the orchestra will follow.

Chains by Tina Arena

Taken un-metaphorically, this song is an homage to bondage. Dungeon walls have excellent acoustics, apparently. Also, if you need it, the other prisoners might provide you with backing vocals. (Side note: this song is an excellent one to regret choosing halfway through karaoke. It is very high for a long time, and you are not Tina Arena.)

Didn’t We Almost Have It All by Whitney Houston

There is a lot of holding on to each other in this song, like love is a waltzer or an earthquake. Whitney probably sang it whilst sitting around looking beautifully heartsick whilst wearing a slouchy jumper in a beach house. When you listen to it you will feel like we really did almost have it all, although you are not sure what ‘it’ is, or, come to think of it, who ‘we’ are.